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NC: Pending inmate releases could prompt legislative session

By Bruce Mildwurf

As the court battle to keep 27 inmates in prison brews, some state officials are considering a back-up plan to address the issue.

MD: Montgomery might sue state over school funding law

By Nelson Hernandez

Top Montgomery County officials threatened Thursday to sue the state and "aggressively pursue" legislation that would change state law after Maryland's attorney general found that the county had failed to meet the state's minimum level of funding for education. The opinion renders it potentially liable for millions of dollars in penalties.

AL: Former aide says Indian donations influencing Riley's bingo opposition

By The Associated Press

A former member of Gov. Bob Riley's Cabinet said today that Riley received campaign contributions from Mississippi Indians who operate casinos, with the money intended to limit their competition in Alabama.

AL: Alert system may fill rural gap

By Jason Morton

EUTAW, Ala. -- On Thursday, the Alabama Emergency Management Agency announced at the Greene County Courthouse the potential hiring of Global Security Systems, a Jackson, Miss.-based company that plans to bring its Alert FM system to nine West Alabama counties.

AL: Officers praise new computer programs

By Ashley Boyd

CAPS, the University of Alabama Center for Advanced Public Safety, has changed law enforcement capabilities through new computerized software programs.

AL: Langford -- Jury reached guilty verdict too quickly

By The Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Ousted Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford says jurors found him guilty of federal corruption charges too quickly for the conviction to stand.

AL: 28 sheriffs endorse Sparks for Alabama governor

By The Associated Press

State Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks has picked up endorsements from 28 sheriffs in his campaign to become Alabama's next governor.

AL: Rep. Alvin Holmes accuses Riley aides, Bradley Byrne of injecting race into battle over no-bid contract

By Bob Lowry

The chairman of the legislative Contract Review Committee today accused the Riley administration and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bradley Byrne of using "racially coded" messages to criticize the panel's hiring of a black lawyer.

AL: Alabama National Guard solider among 31 wounded in Fort Hood shooting; 12 killed

By Staff Reports

An Alabama National Guard soldier is among the 31 wounded during a mass shooting earlier today that also left 12 people dead at Fort Hood, Texas.

AR: Supreme Court suspends east Arkansas judge

By Staff Reports

The state Supreme Court on Thursday suspended Phillips County Circuit Court Judge L.T. Simes from the bench law through the end of his term next year over judicial misconduct accusations.

CA: Attorney General Brown asked to decide legality of legislative pay cuts in California

By Dan Smith

The Legislature's top administrators have asked Attorney General Jerry Brown to decide whether pending 18 percent cuts to lawmakers' pay and benefits were legally approved by the California Citizens Compensation Commission.

CT: Rell makes $34 million in cuts from state budget

By Christopher Keating

The reductions were ordered in hundreds of categories, including $8.5 million from the Department of Children and Families, $7.25 million from the multibillion-dollar Department of Social Services, $3.7 million from the Department of Developmental Services, $1.26 million from the Department of Environmental Protection, $500,000 from the state Department of Agriculture, and $200,000 from the chief state medical examiner's office.

FL: SEC investigating possible fraud by the Florida State Board of Administration

By Sydney P. Freedberg

The federal Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating possible fraud by the Florida State Board of Administration, the agency that manages $132 billion in public investments for hundreds of local governments and 1 million current and future retirees.

FL: House inquiry into Sansom to continue

By Bill Cotterell

A special House committee voted unanimously this morning to continue with its investigation of former House Speaker Ray Sansom, while proceeding carefully to protect his constitutional rights to a fair trial.

FL: ACLU suit alleges Fla. neglecting schools

By The Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Thursday alleging that state officials in Florida are failing to ensure that students in Palm Beach County get a high quality education, as evidenced by their poor graduation rates.

FL: Tour of Scott Rothstein's office reveals gallery of who's who

By Amy Sherman and Jay Weaver

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- To show they `aren't hiding from the public,' lawyer Scott Rothstein's partners gave reporters a tour of his private office -- hours after federal agents seized 44 boxes of documents.

FL: Supreme Court to reprimand 2 Fla. judges

By The Associated Press

The Florida Supreme Court will publicly reprimand two county judges in separate ethics cases.

FL: Fla. justices consider mediation for foreclosures

By The Associated Press

Mediation would be a good way to expedite a flood of mortgage foreclosures, members of a foreclosure task force said Wednesday, but some disagreed on the details in oral arguments before the state Supreme Court.

GA: Georgia prisons win stimulus grants for energy projects

By Dave Williams

The Georgia Department of Corrections has received $16 million in federal economic stimulus grants for a series of energy efficiency projects at prisons around the state.

HI: Fort Hood massacre shocks Hawaii troops

By Suzanne Roig

Hawaii soldiers reacted with a mixture of shock and sadness as news of the shooting spree at Fort Hood unfolded yesterday, and some thought that it could just as easily happen here.

IA: Which unions are on a path to reopening contracts? Culver won't say

By Jennifer Jacobs

Iowans may be kept in the dark about whether state officials are negotiating new contracts with any labor unions in an effort to avoid layoffs of prison and public safety workers.

ID: Idaho man to undergo mental health evaluation

By The Associated Press

A judge has ordered a mental health evaluation for a man accused of intentionally driving his pickup truck into a pair of Idaho State Police motorcycle troopers parked along an interstate median.

ID: Idaho GOP consultant violates felony DUI probation

By Dan Popkey

Gov. Butch Otter on Thursday ended his business relationship with a well-traveled GOP campaign consultant after the man was arrested for violating his probation for felony DUI.

IL: Crime stats down across state

By Ryan Ori

Recently released statistics from the Illinois Uniform Crime Reporting Program indicate crime was down overall in the state in 2008.

IL: Other states' policies on police files vary

By Bruce Rushton

According to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in Washington, D.C., internal-affairs files are public in at least a half-dozen states.

IL: Senators outraged over Illinois nursing home safety

By Gary Marx and David Jackson

A top adviser to Gov. Pat Quinn outlined Thursday for the first time some of the steps Illinois must take to end the warehousing of mentally ill adults in nursing homes, including violent felons who have victimized elderly and disabled residents.

KS: Judge rules Kansas tribe has sovereign immunity

By The Associated Press

The Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas has won its argument that it is entitled to sovereign immunity as a federally recognized Indian tribe.

KY: No extra security at Kentucky bases after Fort Hood shootings

By Staff and Wire Reports

Fort Knox and Fort Campbell officials said they have not been ordered to lock down or take extra security precautions after a mass shooting at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas on Thursday.

KY: AP sources -- Suicide eyed in Ky. census worker case

By Devlin Barrett and Jeffrey McMurray, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Investigators probing the death of a Kentucky census worker found hanging from a tree with the word "fed" scrawled on his chest increasingly doubt he was killed because of his government job and are pursuing the possibility he committed suicide, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.

KY: Amendment gives at least $100 million annually to horse industry

By Tom Loftus

At least $100 million annually would go to Kentucky's horse industry if voters approve a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize slot machines.

KY: Panel sends governor 3 names for open court seat

By The Associated Press

Gov. Steve Beshear has three candidates to consider for an open district court judgeship that covers four eastern Kentucky counties.

KY: AP sources -- Suicide eyed in Ky. census worker case

By Devlin Barrett and Jeffrey McMurray, The Associated Press

LA: Felony status urged for election fraud

By Marsha Shuler

Some election fraud violations could be elevated from misdemeanor to felony status under proposals submitted to a legislative panel Thursday.

LA: Aaron Broussard orders inquiry into top aide's insurance deal with public hospital

By Richard Rainey

NEW ORLEANS, La. -- Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard said today he has launched an investigation into his top administrator's insurance business with the parish-owned West Jefferson Medical Center.

MA: Death penalty foes rip Coakley for signing brief

By Matt Viser

Attorney General Martha Coakley, who says she is firmly against capital punishment, has drawn the ire of some death penalty opponents by urging the US Supreme Court to limit federal review of state court decisions, which opponents say could make it harder for defendants on death row to challenge their sentences.

MA: Inmate stabs 2 officers at prison in Shirley

By Shelley Murphy

A state prison inmate allegedly slashed the neck of one correctional officer and stabbed another in the cheek with a homemade weapon Wednesday night at the Souza-Baranowksi Correction Center in Shirley after being told he would be forced to share a cell with another inmate, according to a union official.

MA: State gun storage law is argued before SJC

By Martin Finucane

The Middlesex district attorney's office argued before the state Supreme Judicial Court yesterday that a law that requires guns to be stored in locked containers or outfitted with trigger locks is valid.

MD: Case involving problematic gang law postponed to January

By Peter Hermann

Dajuan A. Marshall does not deny being a member of the Spyder gang, a Bloods sect, according to his defense attorney.

MD: Waiting to learn who pays Dixon's legal bills

By Julie Bykowicz

BALTIMORE -- Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's legal bills, racked up during a years-long corruption probe that has led her to enlist seven criminal defense attorneys for a theft trial next week, could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, legal observers say.

MD: Officials look to update child support rules

By The Associated Press

BALTIMORE — Maryland officials are proposing the first increase to recommended child support payments in 20 years.

MI: Divided state court picks top county judges

By Dawson Bell

A divided Michigan Supreme Court voted today to renew the appointment of Wayne County Circuit Court Chief Judge Virgil Smith for another term, but named new chief judges in Oakland and Macomb counties.

MI: 55 Michigan troopers to be rehired

By Chris Christoff

State budget director Bob Emerson said the department was given the go-ahead today to hire the troopers, who were among some 100 rookie troopers laid off July 1 in a cost-saving move by Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

MN: Gene Edward Franchini, 1935-2009 -- Former chief justice had 'passion for life and the law'

By Tom Sharpe

Former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Gene Edward Franchini, who died Wednesday, opposed mandatory sentencing, the death penalty and government secrecy.

MS: Medicaid director sued over comments about AG Hood

By Bobby Harrison

A Lee County resident is suing Medicaid Executive Director Bob Robinson for comments he made regarding Attorney General Jim Hood.

MS: Miss. high court won't hear Alcorn case

By The Associated Press

The Mississippi Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal of Johnny Steve Parker, who was convicted of murder in 2007 in Alcorn County.

MS: Hood wants word out to residents

By The Associated Press

Attorney General Jim Hood wants Missisisppians to know about the resources available from his office.

MT: State's Fort Harrison heightens security in wake of Fort Hood shootings

By Martin Kidston

Commanders at Fort Harrison moved swiftly Thursday in the wake of the Fort Hood, Texas, shootings to see if any Montana troops are currently at the Army's largest military post.

NC: Ethics panel clears NC Rep. Shuler in TVA probe

By Mike Baker, The Associated Press

Congressional ethics investigators have concluded that North Carolina Rep. Heath Shuler did not act inappropriately while a residential development that he was involved in sought lake-access rights from the Tennessee Valley Authority.

NE: Convicted killer Lewis erupts in courtroom rage

By The Associated Press

OMAHA -- Prosecutors say a man who killed a doctor at a state psychiatric hospital in Lincoln erupted in a rage during a court hearing.

NE: Budget-cutting bill could further squeeze Nebraska court systems

By JoAnne Young

Low-income Nebraskans who need legal services could be among the losers under recommendations by Gov. Dave Heineman for reducing Nebraska's $6.9 billion budget.

NE: Lincoln senator recommends furloughs, not layoffs for workers

By JoAnne Young

Senators introduced five bills in special session Thursday, aimed at saving money for the state or saving money for a particular program. Lincoln Sen. Bill Avery introduced a resolution (LR4) that would have agencies use furloughs rather than layoffs of state workers if needed to meet across-the-board budget cuts.

NH: McDonald's pays $35,000 to girl burned by tea

By James A. Kimble

BRENTWOOD, N.H. – An Exeter girl is collecting a $35,000 settlement from a McDonald's restaurant because she suffered second-degree burns from hot tea that spilled on her lap, according to court documents.

NH: State worker pleads not guilty

By Annmarie Timmins

Holly Wheatley, 36, pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges that she stole nearly $25,000 from the state while working for the Department of Resources and Economic Development.

NJ: Former Statehouse reporter appointed to N.J. elections agency post

By Staff Reports

A former newspaper reporter has been named deputy director of the state Election Law Enforcement Commission, an official with the agency said today.

NM: Denish says allegation about Christmas cards a 'patently false lie'

By Marjorie Childress

Lt. Governor Diane Denish said in an interview to be televised on Friday evening that it's a "patently false lie" that her office used federal taxpayer dollars for campaign Christmas cards.

NV: NV Chief Justice Hardesty running for re-election

By The Associated Press

Nevada Supreme Court Justice James Hardesty says he will seek re-election next year to a second term.

NV: Managing fraud a lesson of recession

By Abigail Goldman

Robert Frimet is a self-proclaimed fraud expert, a businessman who audits other companies' books, gives lectures on recognizing employee theft, and sits as a civilian member on the Nevada Fight Fraud Task Force.

NY: Senate Democrats rebuff governor on special session

By Tom Precious

Reducing the state's soaring deficit, legalizing gay marriage, slowing property tax growth and toughening drunk driving laws are among the items on the agenda for a special session of the Legislature that Gov. David A. Paterson has scheduled for Tuesday.

NY: Wind-energy firm takes Yates County town to court

By Steve Orr

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Angered by a Town Board vote in Italy, Yates County, to kill a turbine proposal, a wind-energy company is asking a judge to override the elected board members and allow the project to go forward.

NY: Breslin: Open defense funds

By Rick Karlin

State Sen. Neil Breslin is proposing legislation that would unmask the names of people who give money to legal defense funds set up for lawmakers.

NY: Schenectady County earns unwanted rank

By Carol DeMare

Schenectady County ranked first among upstate counties and Long Island for reports of domestic violence incidents per capita in 2008, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said Thursday.

NY: Did grants open doors?

By James M. Odato

Although lawyers representing former state Sen. Joseph L. Bruno insist he did not hand out improper favors to clients who invested pension funds with his employer, state records show Bruno arranged state grants for them.

OH: State auditor wants ethics probe of Dayton charter school

By Anthony Gottschlich

Ohio Auditor Mary Taylor wants the Ohio Ethics Commission to review potential ethics violations at the NuBethel Center of Excellence, a Dayton charter school on Siebenthaler Avenue, her office announced Thursday, Nov. 5

OH: Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray and mortgage serving company exchange lawsuits

By Joe Wagner

Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray and a mortgage servicing company filed dueling lawsuits Thursday over state allegations that the firm misled and gouged borrowers while restructuring their loans.

OK: Oklahoma high school graduate one of the soldiers killed at Fort Hood

By Staff Reports

A graduate of Tipton High School was one of the soldiers killed during a gunman's attack Thursday at Food Hood, Texas.

OK: Jerome Ersland murder trial to be on TV, Internet

By Nolan Clay

A judge Thursday ruled a pharmacist's murder trial will be televised so the public can witness justice unfold in a case she says has "ignited passions" like no other case in the state.

PA: LaGrotta claims innocence in scandal

By Tracie Mauriello

Two years after pleading guilty to crimes he now says he did not commit, former state Rep. Frank LaGrotta is looking for exoneration in the court of public opinion -- something he was unable to get in the court of law.

PA: Grand jury may seek charges against Perzel

By Dennis B. Roddy and Tracie Mauriello

A statewide grand jury is considering recommending charges against former House Speaker John Perzel, R-Philadelphia, and a number of others in connection with millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded computer data that investigators believe was used for political campaigns.

PA: Two Republican aides to leave Pa. House

By Brad Bumsted

Two top House Republican aides — one of them the highest-paid staffer in the Legislature — are leaving their posts, a party spokesman said Thursday.

SC: Release of Gov. Sanford's ethics report could be up to Ethics Commission

By Tim Smith

The battle over an investigative report by the State Ethics Commission of Gov. Mark Sanford appeared headed back to the commission Thursday after the state Supreme Court denied Sanford's request for an order keeping the report secret but stopped short of ordering its release.

SC: Gov. Mark Sanford gave up privacy, Supreme Court rules

By Tim Smith

The South Carolina Supreme Court today denied a request by Gov. Mark Sanford to keep a report by the State Ethics Commission of its investigation of him secret, ruling that the governor completely waived his confidentiality in an August letter.

SC: S.C. court: Sanford ethics probe is public

By Jim Davenport, The Associated Press

South Carolina's Supreme Court ruled Thursday that an ethics investigation into Gov. Mark Sanford's travel must be made public, clearing the way for lawmakers considering impeachment to review a report on the probe.

SD: SD high court -- Loan involving gambling debt void

By Chet Brokaw

A $33,000 loan that one South Dakota man gave another 16 years ago did not have to be repaid under a state law that voids loans involving gambling debts, a split state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

SD: Group to review court translators

By The Associated Press

A committee has been appointed by the South Dakota Supreme Court to study the use of interpreters and translators in the state's courts.

TN: Judge declines paper-ballot push

By Richard Locker

A Nashville judge Thursday turned down a motion to force state election officials to move faster toward installing paper-ballot voting systems across Tennessee in time for the 2010 general election as required by the legislature.

TX: Polygamist sect leader convicted of sexual assault

By James C. McKinley Jr.

ELDORADO, Tex. — One of the leaders of a polygamist sect was convicted Thursday night of sexually assaulting an under-age girl whom the church elders had assigned to him as one of his nine wives.

UT: Commission wants ethics teeth and campaign caps

By Cathy Mckitrick

In its final work session, the Governor's Commission on Strengthening Democracy wrapped up almost a year's worth of deliberations with a few bold recommendations to advance to Gov. Gary Herbert, including one to put some teeth in existing campaign and lobbying laws.

UT: 'Alcohol and pregnancy do not mix,' Shurtleff says

By Carrie A. Moore

Recent studies that show drinking a small amount of wine each day can be healthy don't apply to pregnant women, and Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff can tell you all about it.

VA: Court order issued to stop review of Beach absentee ballots

By Deirdre Fernandes

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- The tight 21st District race took several dramatic turns Thursday, with a raucous rally outside the voter registrar's office, allegations of vote-count irregularities and finally a court order to temporarily stop a review of absentee ballots.

VA: State Supreme Court censures Va. Beach judge

By Kathy Adams

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- The state Supreme Court reprimanded a Virginia Beach Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court judge Thursday for violating ethical conduct standards in a 2007 case.

VT: Lawmaker to draft bill criminalizing fetal deaths

By Staff Reports

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said he's drafting a bill that would criminalize the untimely deaths of fetuses.

VT: No charges for Flanagan in gym incident

By Sam Hemingway

State Sen. Edward Flanagan will not be charged criminally for allegedly engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct at a Burlington health club in August, a prosecutor who reviewed the case said Thursday.

WA: Justice Madsen chosen chief justice

By Rachel La Corte, The Associated Press

Justice Barbara Madsen has been elected by members of the state Supreme Court to be its new chief justice.

WA: State to pay $525,001 in public-records settlement

By Christine Clarridge

The state Department of Social and Health Services has agreed to pay $525,001 to two women and a teenage girl for failing to turn over public records after they filed a $45 million lawsuit against the state claiming they were physically and sexually abused by their foster father.

WI: Judge dismisses lawsuit against state DOT officials

By Staff Reports

A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit against two state Department of Transportation officials which claimed that the department illegally sold drivers' personal information to firms that made it available on the Internet.

WI: Wis. Assembly delays action on drunken driving

By Scott Bauer

The Democratic-controlled state Assembly refused to vote Thursday on a comprehensive toughening of Wisconsin's notoriously weak drunken driving laws after the measure unanimously passed the Senate.

WI: Bill allowing taxpayer money for state Supreme Court races passes

By Patrick Marley

Supreme Court candidates would get taxpayer money to run their campaigns, under a bill approved Thursday by the Legislature.

WI: Drunken driving overhaul OK'd by Senate makes 4th time a felony

By Patrick Marley

The state Senate unanimously voted Thursday for a historic overhaul of the state's drunken driving laws that would require more drivers to install ignition interlock devices on their vehicles and make some fourth drunken driving offenses felonies.

WI: Legislature passes tougher child-care reforms

By Raquel Rutledge

Lawmakers unanimously approved a wide-reaching bill Thursday aimed at curbing fraud and keeping criminals out of the state's troubled taxpayer-supported child-care program.

WV: Groups plan e-mail campaign to protest W.Va. mine

By The Associated Press

Several groups say they will expand their protest against an Massey Energy mine in southern West Virginia through e-mail.

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